EDITORIAL: Good news, forward progress, at Little Canoe Creek

There’s more good news for Etowah County’s Little Canoe Creek Mega-Site, even if it doesn’t register with an impatient populace worried about the county’s economic future.

Marilyn Lott, the county’s economic development director, revealed last week that there’s going to be a $2.7 million site-improvement project at the 1,000-acres-plus property near Pleasant Valley Road and Interstate 59.

The plan calls for grading a section of the land for a pad-ready site of at least 50 acres, with railroad access, that can accommodate a significant industry looking to locate there.

Natural gas lines at the property’s edge will be relocated, and a new railroad crossing will be created on the access road to the site off U.S. Highway 11.

The best part? The money will come from outside Etowah County.

The County Commission’s application to be included in the Growing Alabama Credit program was approved last month by the Renewal of Alabama Commission, plus it’s receiving a donation from Norfolk Southern Railroad.

Under the auspices of the state’s Department of Commerce, Growing Alabama Credit allows individuals and private companies to receive a dollar-for-dollar tax credit of up to 50% of their income tax liability for investing in approved projects. Preparation of industrial sites is on that list.

Norfolk Southern also has designated the property as one of its Prime Sites, which also should put it on some industrial development radars.

So what does this mean?

Well, Lott told commissioners that eliminating the time and money companies must spend on such basics will make the property more attractive to developers. It puts the county one step closer to landing tenants at the site, which should be both a tangible and psychological boost.

More importantly, it shows the value of collaboration on all levels. State and local elected officials (including Etowah County’s legislative delegation) and economic development professionals are committed to making this project a success.

In fact, Sen. Andrew Jones, R-Centre, brought a letter to the announcement from Gov. Kay Ivey, expressing her support for Little Canoe Creek, pointing out its advantages and potential, and urging developers to consider getting companies to hang their shingles there.

So when’s that going to happen? We’ve seen the buzz on social media: “The county has been buying land for 12 years now; when is dirt going to move? When are we going to get some jobs? It’s just swampland out there. We should be focused on important things like filling the potholes in the streets.”

Nothing will satisfy the hard-core Eeyore Brigade, as we’ve labeled them, who seem to relish in Gadsden and Etowah County running in place and not reaching their potential, who see only one road (old-school smokestack manufacturing) to achieving that and who bemoan this as a “poor city and county” even though they never say why that must be the default.

In fairness, perhaps we are out of sync thinking rationally and in the long term, when people are frightened right now about the events taking place on East Meighan Boulevard.

Still, what we see is an increased sense of commitment to making something happen at Little Canoe Creek, and an accumulation of small steps forward — the operative word — toward an objective that’s not going to be achieved the day after tomorrow.

Patience.